"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."

--Winston Churchill

Saturday, February 26, 2011

I thought I'd share some pics from my eventful evening. Let me first say that today has been an exciting one, full of Oscar anticipating and party preparation which included frosting star cookies that Jess slaved away on and shopping for a fun date outfit for a friend (hello TJ Maxx!). Be looking for an Oscar party recap soon! Back to tonight. I attended a political fundraiser tonight and decided to go for a sophisticated look with an edge. Note the new wedge booties I scored at TJ Maxx today for 15 bucks! I've had my eye on them for ages and couldn't believe they were still there! There was only one pair left and they just so happened to be my size. I'd consider it fate.

Kelly and I had our first tastes of sex on the beach at this conservative political event. And before you get too carried away trying to wrap that around your head, let me assure you that I am referring to the drink. Holy cow I can't believe I've never tried one before! I feel like I was transported to a tropical island...until I walked back outside and remembered it is actually freeeeezing! Well I am off to get my beauty rest before my exciting day tomorrow. I can't believe it's almost here! Ahhhh the gowns, the glamour, the excitement! I can hardly contain myself! Yes, I am a total and complete geek but that's okay.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

"I will never be the woman with the perfect hair, who can wear white and not spill on it, and chair committees, and write thank you notes, and I can't feel bad about that." --Carrie Bradshaw

Have you ever had one of those days where you just feel defeated? You can't put your finger on the reason why, but you feel completely deflated and icky about yourself. You wish you could just fast forward the day till you're back home in your pjs and don't need to face the world again till the sun comes out again tomorrow? Well I have had plenty of those days. Too many to count. Unfortunately, I am realizing that many many girls and women feel this way far too often and as I am learning in the fantastic book Captivating, it is often because we women put too much pressure on ourselves. I wish there was a way I could make us all (including myself) believe that we're beautiful and wonderful just the way we are but I can prescribe a few select things to brighten your day and hopefully help you see and know how incredible you really are. Of course I had to include our girls from Sex and the City. What would this post be without them?

Read: Captivating

I can't believe I've waited till I'm 23 to read this book. I've only read four chapters and it's already changing my life and helping me learn so much about myself and why women strive so hard to be perfect all the time. The quote below is just a small taste of the powerful words that reach to the core of every woman who reads it.

"Aware of our deep failings, we pour contempt on our own hearts for wanting more. Oh, we long for intimacy and for adventure; we long to be the Beauty of some great story. But the desires set deep in our hearts seem like a luxury, granted only to those women who get their acts together. The message to the rest of us – whether from a driven culture or a driven church – is try harder."— Stasi Eldredge (Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul)

Watch:

Glee season 1, Episode 16 "Home"

There is a scene in this episode that brought me to tears. If you've never seen the show, Mercedes is normally a confidant diva with curves. Her voice could move mountains and she has the hugest heart. Quinn is the beautiful blonde b**** cheerleader who gets knocked up early in the show and her world is consequently turned upside down. When Mercedes tries out for the Cheerios (the cheerleading team) she is knocked down by the incessantly mean spirited Sue Sylvester who tells her she needs to lose weight in order to join. All of a sudden Mercedes becomes incredibly focused on her weight to the point of becoming so hungry she starts picturing everyone she sees as giant food items. After she faints in the cafeteria from sheer hunger, she is sent to the nurse's office and what happens here is incredibly touching. This is still my favorite scene in the entire show and is a must watch even if you don't watch the show. I won't ruin it all for you but let me just say that a bonding moment happens between Mercedes and Quinn over body image insecurities. The end of the show features another chill inducing scene with Mercedes giving her powerful rendition of "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera and inspires the whole gym (with the exception of Sue Sylvester) to join in the anthem. I get chills just thinking about it.

Sex and the City--Season 3, Episode 3--"Attack of the Five Foot Ten Woman"

I love this episode. Charlotte feels uncomfortable getting naked in the steam shower with all the other women because she thinks they're judging her imperfect body. Carrie tries to convince her this is not the case but is dealing with her own insecurities after running into Big's new wife. Both women overcome (or at least take the first step to overcoming) their insecurities in the end which makes this episode one of my favorites ever.

Listen:

Firework--Katy Perry

"You don't have to feel like a waste of space

You're original, cannot be replaced

If you only knew what the future holds

After a hurricane comes a rainbow"

Pearl--Katy Perry

But I woke up and grew strong and I can still go on

"And No one can take my pearl

You don’t have to be a shell No

You’re the one that rules your world Ohh

You are strong and you’ll learn

That you can still go on

And you’ll always be a pearl

She is unstoppable"

F***ing Perfect--Pink (edited version)

"It's enough

I've done all I can think of

Chased down all my demons

I've seen you do the same

Pretty, pretty please

Don't you ever, ever feel

Like you're less than

Less than perfect

Beautiful--Christina Aguilera (though I prefer the Glee version)

"Cause you are beautiful no matter what they say

Words can't bring you down, oh no

You are beautiful in every single way

Yes, words can't bring you down, oh no

So don't you bring me down today"

As you can see by this messy post, I'm not the expert blogger I wish I was, so I apologize for its appearance. But hey, maybe that's representational to the theme of today's post--beauty isn't in perfection, but in being secure in who we are. Can I get an amen?!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Hello my friends! I want to introduce you to the new members of my family. I am delighted to say that my new babies (aka these gorgeous Matiko taupe leather boots) made it into my hands at last! I cannot get enough of them!

Now that you've met my new babies I want you to meet my new man. Kelly bestowed this gift upon me last night and I will be forever grateful that she found me "the perfect man!" Thanks Kelly! I can stop my searching now.

Ok, and onto what I'm possibly even more excited about--(drumroll please)--the Oscars are in a week!!! I am counting down the days till my Oscar party! In honor of the one week Oscar countdown and to wet your appetite for the amazing red carpet fashion ahead of us, I'm going to feature some of my favorite recent red carpet looks. Some are Oscar nominees this year, and some just caught my eye...

Do you have Oscar plans? If so, are you more excited for the fashion or the actual awards...or in my case both?

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Well I never thought I'd be so happy to say I'm back from LA but after last night's flight home, I have a whole new appreciation for life and a whole new fear of flying. Ok, I'm being a little dramatic, but if you know me, you know that I absolutely hate any kind of turbulence. I'm the girl that will stay behind while everyone else is screaming their eyes out on the huge roller coaster...even if it is for "kids." So when it's involving me dangling in mid air in a little plane that I know isn't just a ride that will soon be over, a fear rushes over me that I don't often experience. We flew into a windy rain storm about 30-45 minutes from home and both my little sister Hayley and I were clutching each others hands for dear life while most of the old people around us were napping or reading their books as if nothing was the matter. I swear I looked like a zombie by the time we landed, pale and traumatized. Anyway, the rest of my trip didn't consist of traumatic events such as that one so moving on.

The Grammys was incredible. We sat almost as high as you can possibly sit in Staples Center, up steep asphalt stairs where the railway ends right before the last step up. Keep in mind that I'm wearing my sky high black platform shoes that I have a hard time walking in on flat ground so at the top of the stairs I had to literally crawl in my tight, short dress over peoples legs through our thin aisle to my seat. You can laugh now that you've gotten that visual. Other than Gwyneth who did absolutely incredible even with the ridiculous puppets, I didn't have any favorite performers. I just thought it was an all around good show with some surprising winners (Lady Antebellum beating out Eminem--heck YES!). It was a long day for us because we attended the Pre-Telecast beforehand which started at 1. But I loved rocking my little glittery dress and false lashes all day. After all, when does anyone ever get to do that?!

Here are photos of some of the highlights of the trip:

In a nutshell, my dad was sweet enough to let me drag him around Disneyland for half the day. We went on all my favorite rides including Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Pan. And I got to eat at the Blue Bayou for the first time! The shoes are my new flats from H&M that got me everywhere over the weekend. And The Veggie Grill is my new favorite lunch spot! Everything they serve is natural and vegan and tastes amazing! If we had one in town I'd be going there for lunch every week.

Well, that's all for now folks! I hope everyone got showered with love this Valentines day, even if you were just greeted by your cat when you got home as it was in my case :)

Friday, February 11, 2011

I feel like a spoiled brat when I say this but I can't contain my excitement so here it is: I get to go to the GRAMMYS!!! I'm in LA right now keeping busy till Sunday when the awards are happening and have already done some fun things which included some damage to my wallet. Shhhh...don't tell! Ok, back to the Grammys. It's looking like I'm going to be braving this dress with an added black and gold waist belt and my sky high black suede pumps and possibly some tights if I end up feeling too uncomfortable without them. Here's hoping I don't fall on my face and flash the world!

Yep, it's pretty darn flashy, short and in your face but what better occasion to wear a dress like this than the Grammys? But getting to dress up and see the slew of celebrities perform live isn't what I'm most excited for. My biggest excitement?...

That's right, my favorite actress and celebrity/girl crush (and half of my favorite celebrity couple) GWYNETH PALTROW is going to perform with Cee Lo Green!!!! When I heard this I about fainted with excitement! I will be happy to be in the same room as her, let alone see her perform. I need to stop thinking about it before I have a minor heart attack. Breath Addi, just breath.

This morning I had a cinnamon bun from Babycakes and was blown away with deliciousness! My sister Chelsea fell in love with this bakery over a year ago after discovering her gluten intolerance and whenever we're in New York a Babycakes pit stop in a must. But now you don't have to live in the Big Apple to get a delicious gluten, sugar, and dairy free baked good because, as this picture and happy Augustus (my stomach's name--don't judge) prove, they recently opened an LA store too! They also ship nationwide if you're willing to spend a pretty penny to experience them from home. Looks like I'm going to be doing even more baking when I get home...

Well that's all for now folks. I'll keep you posted on my Grammys experience. If you hear on the news about a crazy petite blonde fan attacking Gwyneth at the Grammys you'll know who it is. Ok I'm gonna go now before I sound even more like a freak.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Today I was inspired by one of my favorite blogs Tea & Biscuits. Hannie has continuously proven she is well beyond her years in smarts, style, maturity, and wisdom. I loved her post today titled "Flawed Perfection" where she says that there are days she feels fat, or not comfortable with her outfit, or that she' looks silly next to all the perfect fashion bloggers (you're adorable Hannie!), but in the end we're not meant to be perfect, so we should embrace everything that makes who we are! I know we've all heard it time and time again, but today I decided to follow in Hannie's footsteps and verbally embrace the flaws that I focus on more than I should in a bad way and try to turn it into good.

The first thing I always pick on are my short stumpy legs. I long for mile long, lean legs that don't immediately bulk up when I work them out. It's been harder feeling confident without my heels (which I've tried to stray away from after some knee issues). I also hate my swollen knees that make my legs feel even less lean and more dumpy. But you know what? Even if I haven't accepted my short, not stick thin legs yet, I'm gonna try to embrace them here and hopefully it'll eventually transfer into real life.

That's right, I'm short

My hair is as thin as an old lady's (don't let the extensions fool you)

My knees are swollen and chubby

My smile consists of more gum than teeth

My left earlobe is so slit that I can't wear heavy earrings for fear of splitting it all the way

My ahem..."lady friends" are one notch above nonexistant

And my cheeks are not exactly defined like all the models we try to emulate

But guess what? Those are some of the things that make me uniquely me and not everyone else. I can laugh about a lot of these things (not all of them yet but I'm getting there) but sometimes it takes something more like this post to really get it out there. As Hannie summed it up, I'm 100% perfectly me :)

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Today I am feeling a bit under the weather so I have decided to devote my day to kicking back in my pjs, write in my many valentines, blog, and of course watch movies. I'm in a cheesey action type mood so I might finally watch National Treasure and Red from Netflix. What I will definitely not be doing is watching the Super Bowl or partaking in any sort of Super Bowl party complete with beer and mass amounts of chips and dip. Can you tell I'm not quite the sports fanatic? My Super Bowl comes later this month on the 27th with the OSCARS!! I'm eagerly counting down the days.

What have I done this weekend so far? Well, for one my lovely bestie Kelly came over and watched Beauty and the Beast with me after we made more delightful fudge. We wanted to get a picture with Belle and the Beast in the background and this is the best we could do. Kelly was also sweet enough to bring me treats and the card I almost bought myself because I loved it so much! I think it pretty much sums me up. She of course filled the inside with the sweetest words so it wasn't blank like this picture shows.

I also got a manicure with my dearest french friend Anne. She is the sweetest :)

And as if that weren't enough, Jess was a total sweetheart and fed my nail polish obsession by getting me the OPI polish I've been desperately wanting. The shade is "Russian Navy Suede" and she was able to snag it for me just before the discontinued it!

I also hot an amazing facial from my little sister Maddy who's training to be an esthetician and is already quite the pro. I bought Bare Minerals from her while I was there and am already won over after only 2 days! This stuff is a miracle guys, I'm telling ya.

My amazing mom also helped me organize all my drawers and cabinets in my little guest house as part of our goal of tackling an organizing project every week till I'm completely clutter free! Yay! I thought I'd leave you all with a picture of the breakfast cereal mix I made the other morning that was so beautiful I had to photograph it. Believe me, it was just as weird and delicious as it looks.

Whether you're watching the Super Bowl or not, I hope you all are having a fantastic day! I know I'll be waiting for the end score because of a pool my co-workers participate every year. The winner gets 700 bucks! Crossing my fingers!

Follow this blog with bloglovin

Contact me

About Me

I'm a twenty-four year old graphic designer/artist/movie and fashion enthusiast with a heart for South Africa and its people. I'm teaching at a wonderful boarding school for three months so keep up with my adventures in my own Out of Africa story here.